No. No. Too easy. No. No. Oh, what’s this one? Bah too far away. No. No.

Alton thumbed through the available bounties listed on the job board in the large entrance hall of Kitsu fortress. He was looking for a specific type of bounty that he could use as a final training mission for the recruits. The only problem, he didn’t know exactly what he was looking for. It needed to be challenging enough to give the kids a chance to show what they were made of, but not challenging enough that he would need to step in prematurely. It had been a long time since he needed to pick assignments based on the strength of his team rather than have the most difficult ones assigned to him.

He had spent the last few days speaking with the longsights of the fortress and the patrols around the area. He wanted a fiend of reasonable difficulty. A nonstandard location would be great as well. There were plenty of minor fiends hanging around the area causing annoyances, but Alton didn’t want to waste any time on them. Corbin wanted him back with his new team and ready for assignments in less than two weeks. He grunted and wandered away from the board in search of the fortress practice yard. He needed a sparring session to work out some frustration.

“Spar the Wolf of Agorra? You want to embarrass me in front of my men, Alton?” Sergeant-in-Arms Puronthi laughed.

“You flatter me Puro. I haven’t gotten to spar a real challenge in more than a month, since…” Alton replied and trailed off, a dark look briefly appearing on his face.

“Aye, it will be good for me to see just how far you have pushed the gap between us, friend. Good to humble my men as well. Guarding the fortress has dulled their senses, I fear.” Puronthi responded, choosing to skip over the event Alton referred to.

“Practice swords, standard rules?” Alton posed.

“I’m not sure the practice swords we have here can hold up to that kind of abuse, but we can try.” Puronthi laughed again and started walking out to the middle of the yard.

Alton joined him and accepted a sword one of the other guards had retrieved. They met in the middle and stood a few feet apart before nodding to each other and raising their blades. They tapped the flat side against each other twice and then backed off. Alton circulated his mana and relished the feeling of it coursing through his muscles. His body felt like a spring loaded and ready to snap. He took a deep breath and steadied himself as the same guard that had given him the sword finishing counting them down.

“Two.”

“One.”

Alton sprang forward and whipped his sword out in a high swing, probing his opponent’s defenses. Puro responded rapidly and slapped the strike away with the flat of his blade before coming in tight and low. Executing a high jump, Alton landed a powerful kick on the sergeant-in-arms' chest, propelling him backwards. Alton pursued with several quick stabs, pulling each back before receiving any contest. Alton increased the mana circulating through his body and smiled. This was precisely what he needed.

Three more lightning quick exchanges later and Alton finished the sparring match with a tap to the side of his friend’s head. A fake overheard swing as he kicked out and caught the other by the ankle had spelled the end for the former Hawk blade. He chuckled as he lay flat on his back and held up his arm for Alton to help him up. Alton grasped it and helped the man to his feet before checking his reserves and found them still at eighty percent, not nearly drained enough to end the session.

“Again?” Alton asked, his blood still up, the thrill of the fight pulsing through him.

“Sorry, my friend, even that was enough to tax my injuries. Long past are the days I can keep up with monsters like you and Davih, as bad as I wish it were otherwise.” Puronthi replied, his face drawn tight.

“I understand. I appreciate it all the same.” Alton responded and clasped the man on the shoulder. Puronthi had served on Hawk team at the same time as he and Davih before taking a near fatal injury during one mission to reclaim Kitsu. He had developed severe anxiety during the recovery and opted to take a posting as a guard rather than return to the strikers. Alton respected the decision, every man had his day, best to know it before its too late.

“How about any of you? Five versus one? All eight of you?” Alton asked and smiled at the guards, who suddenly wanted to be anywhere else but there. “Come now, don’t be shy.”

“All eight of us against just you, sir? That doesn’t seem right.” A particularly burly man asked.

“Oh, don’t worry about me, I need the practice. Standard rules, as soon as you get three hits, the spar will end.” Alton replied cheerfully. The men slowly gathered in the yard and equipped themselves, still clearly hesitant about the situation.

“Whoever lands the last hit on Alton gets a week off fully paid.” Puronthi noticed the hesitance and upped the stakes.

“Excellent! I will double that, a full week’s pay for whoever gets the last hit!” Alton was going to enjoy this. “Puro, call the healer, but not for me.”

Three blurry minutes later and eight bodies littered the practice yard. Alton stood in the middle and held his broken practice sword while he tried to rein in his feelings. He had gone a little overboard on the guards. Venting his own frustration on them. One of the men groaned and rolled to his side before throwing up blood. Maybe Alton had gone fully overboard, actually. He thought with a grimace. He checked his core, and it was at about one third now. Much better, he decided as he metaphorically flexed the muscle of the core.

“I apologize both to you Puro and your men. That was not kind of me. I forgot myself and took out unwarranted frustration on your men.” He sighed loudly and tried to apologize. He helped up a few of the guards and helped them to the bleachers surrounding the yard. The healer was tending to the one throwing up blood first, so Alton handed out a few of his healing potions. “Full weeks pay for everyone, on me.” He announced to a few hesitant cheers.

“Sir, by the Mad God, what tier are you?” The guard he had most recently given a healing potion too asked. “If you don’t mind me asking,” he added hastily.

“Not at all. I expect I am now in the fifth tier, specializing as a body enhancer.” Alton said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

“But isn’t that…Sergeant Puronthi, are you not in the fourth tier? I have never seen you move like that.” He blurted out “uh sorry sir..”

“Hah. Don’t be sorry Tuni, tiers of power are imprecise. I am in the fourth tier by the size of my core and ability to enhance and infuse my mana. Even at my best, I was never a match for Alton and a few of the other blades. When the mages and academies separated the tiers as they did, it was expected that enhancers would be able to solidify their mana bodies as the entry to the fifth tier, based on surviving texts from the mountain. It has been several years since I reached the fourth tier and as far as I know, only Alton has accomplished it. That has created numerous enhancers at the fourth tier and a larger than average gap between the strongest and weakest.” Puronthi explained as Alton nodded along.

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Alton left the traumatized guards and walked out of the practice yard, making his way to the secluded area that he would meet Jonah in. He sat down on the ground and started cycling to refill his core. Reflecting on the sparring session left him unsatisfied. There wasn’t anyone near that could truly push him to his new limits until more enhancers broke through. His brooding was interrupted by the arrival of the older mage.

“Jonah! Good to see you again. Have you deciphered your mess of numbers and charts yet?” Alton asked.

“Alton. I have to the best that I can and made a few copies to send to colleagues. From my understanding, you are the most physically powerful individual in all of Agorra. The results of breaking through have pushed you past the limits previously possible. Have you tried infusing mana into your skin yet?” Jonah replied.

“Some. Scattered bits here and there, the past three days were the only times I could cycle to full. I am ready to try now and we can do it however you want. We need more people in the fifth tier. We are heavily outnumbered in the valley. What do you want me to do?” Alton asked as Jonah sat down and set up his writing desk.

“We have to start with the boring parts first, Alton. I want you to tell me in every detail you wish to share the events of both the cave and the funeral. I know you have given this story many times, but I need to hear it myself. What I am most interested in is the emotional state and how it felt. I believe the key lies in those feelings.” Jonah replied with a small smile. He knew he was asking a difficult task of Alton.

Alton sat back and considered the question for a moment. His recountings were more mission reports until now. Could he remember how he felt at that moment? He told Jonah about the mission and the lead up first. He was sure Jonah already had a full accounting from command, but he retold it still.

“When I saw…” Alton sighed and braced his heart “When I saw Carli die my core was near empty. I picked up her sword, and the reservoir drained into my core. Same with Fangs. Both should have been more than my core could handle. The ambient mana drained in the same way it did during the Sapients blasts. I felt like a failure. When I became captain of Wolf team, I promised to protect them. When I selected the wolf the description was to hunt my foes and protect my allies. To form a pack of unbreakable bonds and guide them. I remember shouting but it wasn’t words, it was a howl. I was outnumbered forty to one in that cave between the Edorians and mindless. No allies left, but I felt it deep in my soul as the howl was answered by someone else. A scene played out in my head of a great Wolf and it felt…significant. Like a primal force of nature rather than a beast.” He detailed the scene of the Wolf on that frozen tundra as best he could with words.

“When I woke in the cave, I couldn’t remember any of this. During the funeral, when the priest was speaking, I remember thinking that I just wanted to save them. I needed to be more next time, stronger, a better leader. My core was raging against its confines and I lost control, and it flooded my body with mana in a way I have never felt. The tattoo burned itself into my skin while my memory of the cave was….unlocked? It all became so clear to me. I..” Alton hesitated at this point and Jonah stopped writing to look up. "It feels like I am that wolf. Pardon me for how that sounds, but that’s what I feel. I can’t describe it in any other way.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes while Jonah wrote down the story and made notes. He went over the original accounting he had and made corrections. When he was finished, he gave Alton a look of such pity that it hurt.

“Let us move on to brighter topics, my friend,” Jonah said, to break the silence. "Try to infuse your skin. Unfortunately, I don’t have any information from the mountain to share on this topic.”

Alton remained in his cycling position and closed his eyes. Thinking back to when he was younger and first learning to circulate. Trying to find that feeling of searching out his body to move mana around. Despite how hard he probed, he couldn’t feel anything different. There seemed to be nowhere for the mana to go.

He spent most of the hour trying to find an entry point for the mana to infuse. Circulating through his entire body revealed no secrets. No recently opened access points. When he used his mana on Fang, it felt like a void at the end of his arm. Sending mana towards it would feel like it was being pulled out of him. He tried to find anywhere that mimicked that feeling but came away with none.

“I will travel back to Agorath and spend some time in the archives. There must be answers to this. Our society was built on the backs of those in the higher tiers. The knowledge existed once, it can be found again,” Jonah said when Alton opened his eyes and shifted positions.

“Send word when you wish to meet again. You may have to return to the field and find me, old man,” Alton chuckled.

“Before you go, Alton,” Jonah spoke out as Alton was about to leave. “I believe you are adding a mage healer to your team, no?”

“I will be. The academy instructor I spoke with said there wasn’t a suitable candidate in this cycle, so it may have to wait for the next camp to finish.” Alton replied.

“Might I suggest someone? I have recently taken on the son of a friend. He shows promise as a healer and his core is, well, to be frank, massive. A bit shy and will require a tender hand, but I believe he would fit well under you.” Jonah explained.

“I trust you, Jonah. You know what it’s like out there,” Alton replied with a shrug. "If you think he can handle it, send him to the practice yard at noon tomorrow.”

He left the fortress and returned to the Inn in Old Barrow to research missions for his team. At this rate, he would have to hike up in the mountains himself and start poking around. In another life, Alton thought he would enjoy being an adventurer. Retire from the army and post up in a village protecting it from Gwelli and the like. Maybe when he was older…

—-

Izzy was tending the bar when he walked in and flashed him her magnificent smile. There were a few people seated already despite it being early afternoon, so Alton grabbed a seat near the end and waited for her to come over. They chatted throughout the afternoon about this and that as she brought Alton round after round. When it got busy in the late afternoon, he busied himself with burying his trauma under the bitter beer the inn was serving.

“Alton! I think I found the solution to your problem! That man over there in the straw hat is a tracker and, well, I’ll let him tell you.” Izzy said cheerfully before waving the man over. She placed two large glasses on the table and walked away to tend to other customers.

Alton’s eyes studied her while her back was turned. She was only a few inches shorter than him, with a petite yet strong build. Her golden hair fell just above the small of her back and shined against the soft blue dress she was wearing. Alton felt guilt rise like bile in his throat. He averted his eyes and sighed before taking a long sip of beer. Yuri had said to just jump the first girl that made eyes at him, but he knew that wasn’t what he wanted, or at least he knew it wasn’t what he needed. The man in question finished the conversation he was having and walked over. He was a large man in traveling clothes, Alton was curious as he studied him approaching.

“You some kind of tracker or something” the man asked.

“You could say that, I am looking for recent sightings of fiends to take a group hunting. Nothing too easy or too far away, I’m afraid.” Alton replied. Grateful to speak with someone who didn’t know him or what had happened. He ended his sentence with a burp and spilled some of his beer.

“Un” the man grunted, “well I don’t know exactly what it is. I’ll tell you what I told the lass. I’m a tracker and trader based out of here and mostly stay in this section of the mountains. Mostly dealing with rare pelts and relics of the old age, that kind of stuff. Few weeks ago I was up near the peak o’ Nummun when I found this cave leading into the mountain. Didn’t have many mana lights left, so I just explored the entrance, but it was coated in bones, tufts of fur and decomposing bodies. I’d bet a good coin it was a drakes nest, never seen one myself, but heard plenty.” He finished and sipped his beer while Alton thought.

Alton pulled out his map and unfolded it to the section of the mountains near Kitsu. The tracker didn’t need to be prompted to point towards the mountain he was talking about. Alton judged the distance to be a few days’ journey which suited him perfectly. A full grown drake was more of an assignment for a full strike team, but younger drakes weren’t too difficult. Alton studied the map and tried to remember any news of a full grown drake preying on the farms nearby and found he couldn’t.

“This seems like a good one to me. Coin for your help,” Alton finally said and folded his map back up, replacing it with a silver coin, enough to buy drinks for the night.

“Good luck up there, its cold and snowy this time of year.” The tracker finished and walked off.

He flashed Izzy a smile and nodded at her before returning to his drink, already planning his new team’s first mission out in his mind.

————